Shadow in the Mirror
by Rachael.C727
Summary: Callista Deetz, is Lydia Deetz estranged daughter. While rummaging through her mother's things Callista discovered that her mother had a certain poltergeist of her past locked away and he comes back w/ a vengeance. A darker version of the cartoon ensues.


A/N: Well, it has been a while since I had looked at fanfiction, or even considered writing but this time of year makes my inner goth girl watch all of Tim Burton's movies, the most inspirational (in my opinion) is Beetlejuice both the cartoon and movie. How many other shows are willing to have a young girl going on an adventure involving dead people, another world and borderline romantic relationship with a dead guy? Well besides Twilight series and its hell spawns (aka True Blood, and Vampire diaries)*shudders with disgust*. No one holds a candle to my beloved, gross, demonic, poltergeist Beetlejuice, and that's what I'm going to write about. This story isn't going to take the Lydia is all grown up and comes back theme, it's actually going to involve a . .… OC . BUT before you turn away, read a little. Tell me what you like, what you don't like. I'll take your criticisms into account while trying to follow my initial story line.

Chapter 1: The Attic

Callista Deetz was bored, so she did what she normally did when she was bored, rummage through her mother's things in the attic, hoping to find something of interest that she didn't know about. Her mother talked so little about her past, other than mention that she was often viewed as strange. That didn't surprise Callista at all considering everyone **still** considered her mother, Lydia Deetz, strange and unusual. Her mother seemed, to her, like an elegant woman who had a fancy for the macabre, so much so that it engulfs her life. Lydia Deetz was a well renown photographer in Europe as well as some parts of the States. She would shoot various depictions of death, from crumbling old castles, to gothic avant garde fashion shoots in cemeteries. Since this is what she did for a living Callista spent most of her childhood travelling with her mother, moving from school to school and never really making any long lasting friendships, until she hit high school. While she was in high school, her mother would spend a few weeks to a month here and there travelling and working then coming home to their house in Fairfield, Connecticut. Needless to say, their relationship was awkward, not that her mother wasn't loving or kind, which she was, they just never seem to have been together long enough to form that close mother/ daughter bond that Callista saw in other relationships at school. The most personal her mother ever really got to be with her was when Callista was 15, and her mother seemed curious as to what her sexual identity was. It was shocking, and random. The conversation didn't go well either.

"_Callista, honey I was just curious,"_

"_What made you even think that mother?" Callista was fuming, of all things her mother wanted to know about her, **that** seemed like the best topic?_

"_Well, I only see you with Jet, and you haven't really brought any boys home, so I thought-," her mother was trying to reason._

"_Did it not occur to you that no one likes me? Huh? Guys don't seem to find my 'type'attractive! Bi-racial and 'gothy' is a little too much for those assholes." Callista vented._

"_Watch your mouth Callista! Honey, I didn't mean to hit a sore spot. And you never know, there might be a guy that comes forth and catch your interest, and you his." Lydia tried to console her daughter._

"_Yeah, like that ever works out well." Callista remarked, instantly regretting her words. Her mother immediately withdrew herself from the conversation, a look of sadness marring her graceful face. _

"_Mom, I'm sorry," Callista apologized with most sincerity ", I didn't mean it in that way."_

"_It's alright," her mother replies hollowly. "I just wanted to know what I have been missing recently. I'm glad I haven't missed anything yet."_

The memory of that years old argument sent a huge wave of guilt through Callista, while she was in the middle of looking through/ organizing the attic. Her mother didn't like being reminded of her biological father; apparently their relationship was a brief one that left her mother alone with Callista at a young age. Most other mothers would consider themselves proud for finishing their education and becoming successful while providing for a child, but Callista's mother seemed to always be filled with some regret and pain. Was her dad that significantly wonderful? She didn't think so, but that lead to her dilemma currently, she had no idea what he was like or what happened between him and her mother, so now she was stuck looking through her mother's things in order to get a clue. She opened up a black trunk covered in dust, it was filled with older clothes, some of the likes Callista had never seen in her life. A red spider web poncho, green and blue school girl uniform, a small purple dress, a long black dress, and a frilly red tulle… **bridal gown**? What was that thing? Her mother was never married, that she **did** know. She also found a sketch book of clothing designs, all of them scary and gothic but with a fashion forward of style. Her mother was a designer too?

"Woah Mom," Callista said ", you could have made a killing before Hot Topic cornered the market." She put down the sketch book and started to look through more of her mother's items, costume jewelry, a crystal ball and setting, and a lantern. Callista was pleasantly surprise, "I wonder if she has a Ouji board too." And then she hit the bottom, running her fingers along the sides until she felt a book. She picked it up, and noticed right away how heavy it was. It was old, fabric bound hard cover, and the pages yellowed with age, the front cover depicted well drawn skull and crossbones with the words PRIVATE written on it. Could this be her mother's diary? Who in the world would write "private" so aggressively over something and not expect someone to read it? Callista looked at her cell phone. Good. Her mother wasn't expected to be home from her workplace for another 15 minutes, plenty of time to skim through the diary. Callista opened it up and started to read.

_September 9, 1989_

_It is going to be BJ's and mine one year anniversary tomorrow! I couldn't wait to tell him about my new job!_

BJ? One year anniversary? Could BJ be her estranged father? Callista looked at the date 1989, her mother was about… fourteen-fifteen at that time? No, her mother did not know her father from that long ago… she kept reading.

_My__ "__mother__"__,__Delia, __tried __to __redecorate __my__room __today, __she __said __everyday __couldn__'__t __be__ "__Halloween__"__. __But __that__'__s __how __I __want __every __day __to __be __like._

(typical, Callista thought)

_It was horrible! Yellow pastel was on my curtains and my bed, topped with big/ puffy bows! I contained my anger, there was no use in throwing a fit, I was going to change everything as soon as she left anyway. I couldn't let BJ see my room like this. He would never let me hear the end of it._

So BJ was a boy, Callista thought. He must have been a good friend of her mother's, funny though, how she never mentioned him. But then again she didn't mention a whole lot about anything really, she read on.

_I called BJ like I normally do, the little poem/ spell I came up with:_

"_Though I know I should be wary,_

_Still I venture someplace scary,_

_Ghostly haunting, I turn loose_

_Betelguese,_

_Betelguese_

_Betel-"_

"I'm home! Callista dear…? Hello? Where are you?" her mother called. "Fuck!" Callista cursed to herself, she wasn't anticipating her mother coming home early. She quickly climbed down the attic ladder and ran into her room across the hall. She could hear her mother climbing up the stairs. She panicked, and noticed that she still had her mother's diary with her, she placed the diary in her sock drawer and closed it just in time before her mother opened her bedroom door.

"What are you up to?" her mother, Lydia, said as soon as she opened the door.

"Uh- Up to?" Callista asked, uncertain of what she should say. "Yes.. up to, I saw that the attic door was left opened.. What where you doing up there?" her mother asked. Callista couldn't deny anything, she was up in the attic, so she decided to tell a white lie. "Well, I was looking through your old things, I wanted to find some new clothes to wear at school and I was thinking about redecorating my room." "Oh!" her mother was surprised and she looked around, "What did you want to decorate it with?" Crap. Callista thought of the only furniture item she could remember. "Uh the um , vanity desk you have up there, you know, the one with the big mirror?" Callista swore that for a second her mother became paler (if that was possible). "Oh.. well um are you sure you want that old thing?" The fact that her mother was trying to persuade her not to have it peaked Callista's interest. "Is there something wrong with it?" Callista asked. "No! of course not!" her mother assured her hesitantly ," I'm just making sure it is what you want. That's all." "It is," Castilla said. And then there was an awkward silence in the room. "Well! I'll get someone to move it downstairs tomorrow, is Greek alright for dinner?"her mother asked earnestly "Uh- yeah!" said Castilla. And after her approval her mother was gone, leaving Castilla in her room relieved. She sorted through her thoughts and could only think of one thing. What the fuck is Betelguese?

A/N: Alright that's chapter 1! I hope you guys like it, let me know what you think, constructive criticism is always appreciated. I hope to have another chapter up soon before my muse has left me.


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